The Balmoral opened Brasserie Prince by Alain Roux on June 11. The hotel is collaborating with Alain, of the esteemed Waterside Inn, Bray, as well as his father Michel Sr OBE, the legendary chef and restaurateur.
Brasserie Prince will celebrate, Harden’s has been told, “a new alliance”, matching French cookery with the best Scottish produce.
The restaurant has been decorated by the Martin Brudnizki Design Studio and Olga Polizzi, Rocco Forte Hotels’ director of building and design. We are told the new look is lavish and opulent – and it certainly looks it from the photography.
The food will undoubtedly match the interior.
Alain Roux says: “This exciting new brasserie will be defined by a seasonally changing menu rooted in French bistro dishes, irresistibly simple, delicious food. We will be led by the fantastic array of Scottish ingredients and flavours to include beautiful seafood platters and tasty sharing plates at the bar.
“I want to serve the dishes that I love to cook myself at home and seek out with family and friends when we go out to eat. It will be a menu informed by my French heritage but totally inspired by Scotland.”
Here, £3 million worth of elegance
The collaboration is the work of Lydia Forte, the group’s bar and restaurant development manager. You might have seen her on the current BBC 1 series Million Pound Menu, the so-called Dragons’ Den of the hospitality industry.
Lydia says of planning the venture: “Michel Sr and Alain Roux were my first choice when I thought of a new brasserie at The Balmoral.
“Michel was one of the first to revolutionise the UK dining scene at about the same time that my grandfather was making his strides in hospitality. Michel and Alain run a family business like us and as such we have the same ethos. The experience of our guests is so personal to us because our names are on the door.”
The restaurant and bar will serve 210, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. A ‘seasonal’ and ‘hearty’ menu is the order of the day, with dishes from Scottish côte de boeuf to Plateaux de fruits de mer.
Diners may also choose from the daily ‘Grand-Mère’s Specials’. These will change, but don’t be surprised if you find Boudin noir aux deux pommes, a rich dish of black pudding with caramelised apple and potato purée, and Côtelettes d’agneu, lamb cutlets with couscous, sorrel and mint sauce.
The wine list? We await that eagerly.
Did you know?
The Waterside Inn has been given five stars in all categories by Harden’s readers.
They say: “Swans are usually in view” in its “glorious” and “peaceful” riverside location, and in particular the location is “unsurpassable on a warm evening in summer”.
